When automakers swing for the fences, design a car beyond the norm, and build it to the nth degree – the results can be fairly spectacular. Speed record supercars, 900 horsepower hybrids, and the like. This is however neither of those things, but still an absolute jaw-dropper on its own.
Meet the 1990 Volkswagen Golf Country Syncro. It packs four-wheel drive, obligatory off-road looks, fantastic ‘90s decals, and incredible rarity. Yes, rarity. In fact, there are around twice as many Lamborghini Gallardos in the world as Golf Countrys. Interested yet? This one’s up for sale on eBay.
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Starting in the mid ‘80s, Volkswagen began building four-wheel drive versions of its Golf hatchback, but the casual observer would never know. These ‘Golf Syncro’ cars looked generally the same as the average Golf. That would change however at the 1989 Geneva Motor Show. Volkswagen arrived with its high-riding, four-wheel drive Golf Montana concept. It must have been well received because in 1990 it was put into production as the Golf Country Syncro.
All Golf Countrys started life at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg assembly plant where they received their standard 1.8-liter four-cylinder engines and five-speed manual gearboxes. The ‘syncro’ viscous coupling four-wheel drive system was in turn installed in Graz, Austria by Steyr, complemented by a flashy brush guard, spare wheel, rear tire carrier, skid plates, and raised suspension.
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Two variants followed, a lower priced ‘lite’ and an upmarket ‘chrome’ version, but production would conclude in 1991 after just 7,735 Golf Country Syncros had been built. Understandably, these German cars are rather uncommon in Europe but exceedingly rare in the USA.
This 1990 model looks to be in strikingly good shape inside and out, but the real draw is its mileage, showing only 50,741 kilometers (31,528 miles) on the odometer. In terms of rare relatively modern cars, this is a unicorn.
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